Chamber	District	Dates of Service	Legislatures	Party	City/County	Note	Counties in District
H	50	Jan 8, 1889 - Jan 13, 1891	21st ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾	Republican	Bryan / Brazos		Brazos
H	28	Jan 14, 1879 - Jan 11, 1881	16th ⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁵⁾	Republican	Bryan / Brazos		Brazos

(1) Republican. Biennial Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Texas: List of Senators and Representatives.
(2) A. Asberry, Elias Mays, and R.B. Renfro [Rentfro], Republicans. Roster of Representatives of the 21st Legislature, "Twenty-First Legislature: Members of the House, Address, Occupation and Politics," Galveston Daily News, 1/5/1889, p. 2, crediting Abilene Library Consortium. "The star indicates republican; those unmarked are democrats. [Note - Quite a number of the members who are marked democrats were elected as independents.]" Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
(3) Republican, 1/14/1879, p. 1. Galveston Daily News.
(4) Republican. Texas Legislative Manual, 1879-80, 1879.
(5) "Mays campaigned and was elected on the Greenback ticket," p. 129. Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares: Black Leadership in Texas, 1868-1898, 2016.

Biographical Notes and Resources top

Resolutions and Journal entries

79th Legislature, R.S., HR 589, paying tribute to African American legislators and constitutional convention delegates of 1868-1900. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.
81st Legislature, R.S., HCR 81, paying tribute to African American legislators and constitutional convention delegates. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.
85th Legislature, R.S., HR 452, celebrating Black History Month and honoring the leadership and vision of African American lawmakers. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.

Biographical Sketches

Biographical sketch, Elias (Elius) Mayes (Mays). Birth date 1/1830 or 2/15/1831; death date 1/5/1910. Forever Free: Nineteenth Century African-American Legislators and Constitutional Convention Delegates of Texas, 2002.
MAYES, ELIAS (1831-?). Birth date 2/15/1831. Handbook of Texas Online.
Biographical sketch, Chapter VI, "Black Belt Politics," p. 107. The Negro in Texas, 1874-1900, 1971.
Biographical sketch, Elias Mays, pp. 260-261. Born 2/15/1831 in Canecka County, Alabama. Personnel of the Texas State Government with Sketches of Distinguished Texans, 21st Legislature, 1889.
Biographical sketch, Elias May, p. 260. Texas Legislative Manual, 1879-80, 1879.
Biographical sketch, pp. 61-62. Birth date 2/18/1831; death date 7/5/1910. Elias [Elius] Mays, Appendix D. Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares: Black Leadership in Texas, 1868-1898, 2016.

Other Resources

Elias Mays, memorial marker in Bryan City Cemetery, Bryan, Brazos County. Find a Grave.
Mentioned in CLARKSVILLE, TEXAS Handbook of Texas Online.
Mentioned in Historical Clarksville, 2000.
Elias Mays. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
Biographical Information, p. 97. Born 2/15/1831. Negro Legislators of Texas and Their Descendants: a History of the Negro in Texas Politics from Reconstruction to Disfranchisement, 1935.
Death notice, "Elias Mays Dead," The Bryan Daily Eagle and Pilot, 1/5/1910, p. 3. "Elias Mays, one of the oldest and best known colored men in Bryan, and this section of the state, died at his home in this city this morning. He was at one time was a member of the legislature from this county." Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).

Photographs

Photograph. Elias Mays, 21st Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Elias (Elius) Mayes (Mays), State Preservation Board

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

21st session composite photo of House members (House chamber vestibule, west wall. 2W.V1). State Preservation Board.

Committee Information top

21st R.S. - 1889 Education Penitentiaries Representation and Apportionment
16th R.S. - 1879 Counties and County Boundaries

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